Hello, So we are two 21-22 year old's planning this trip to Europe in late July or early August. We will be staying with friends, family , hostels/hotels. Luckily we will get to stay in two resorts, one in Italy and one in Spain (which we have not chosen yet). We will be getting the eurail pass as means of transport.

So what are we interested in:
Culture filled towns/cities
Historical sites ( museums, architecture, world war 2 sites, castles, old churches romantic sites, unusual sites, etc) Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

We will fly into Frankfurt, Germany, where we will spend the night (no lodging selected yet). From Frankfurt we will travel to Amsterdam, where we plan to stay 3 nights(no lodging selected yet). From Amsterdam we will pass through Brussels to Paris . In Paris we plan to stay for at least 2 nights (no lodging selected yet). From Paris we will pass through Switzerland and Munich into Prague where we plan to stay 4 nights (no lodging selected yet) From Prague we plan to travel to Venice. Once in Italy we plan to stay 3 nights in Venice, 4 nights in Florence, pass through Sienna and spend 2 nights in Rome. From Rome we will travel to Monoco (4 nights) (we haven't decided on a specific place yet, Help!) We are from Hawaii so we want to see more than just a nice beach, more cultural, small town vibe =) Lastly we will end our trip in Spain where we will spend 4 nights in Barcelona, 3 nights Madrid, I would really like to pass through Basque Country (heritage reasons) even tho its out of the way.

So we know its an ambitious itinerary and don't want to spend all our time traveling so we plan to travel during the night as much as possible and would consider eliminating places "not as worthy".

Your Help would be greatly appreciated!
>Itinerary
>Lodging
>Attractions
>Eatery

Note: We would like to spend as little as possible in lodging and don't mind spending on delicious food !

Monaco is small and very expensive. Why are you staying there for 4 days? (Especially with just 2 nights in Paris)

Just me, but I would skip Monaco and add two nights to Paris and two to Rome, or one to Paris, one to Rome and two to another place like Seville or Bruges.

Also, I would not spend the first night in Frankfurt, but go directly on to Amsterdam or to someplace in between.

If you haven't booked tickets already, I would start in London rather than Frankfurt, and spend a couple of days there instead of Monaco.

I think we need a little more info to help you. Why are you flying into Frankfurt if you're not going to stay there? Why not fly directly into Amsterdam?

Also, don't understand about the resorts. You'll be staying in resorts in Italy and Spain but you don't know where? It's difficult to plan a trip if you don't know where you're staying. Additionally, resorts are generally located outside the city centers which makes getting around dependent on a car or public transport. If you'll be on foot whenever you're not on the train, I'd recommend that you stay in the city centers where you'll find the historical sights, museums, churches, etc.

When you say you're passing through here and there, will you be getting off train to actually visit these cities or are you merely passing by them? It's a shame if you don't plan to stop in every major city you pass if you have the time.

If you want help with lodging suggestions, you'll have to give us some idea as to what you can spend per night.

I'm with ellenem re Monaco. Ditch Monaco altogether. Stay in Paris an additional day and if you want to go south then perhaps go to Nice for 2 or 3 days. Personally I didn't find Monaco particularly intersting and there are lots of better places to enjoy such as Nice (definite small town vibe with lots of activity and it's a great city on foot).

Fill in a few more of the blanks and your Fodor friends will be glad to offer more suggestions!

Thanks for all your great responses =) so the reason we are flying into Frankfurt is because its half the price, although I would love to fly into London or Amsterdam. Also by passing through those cities I meant getting off the train for the day. The resorts in both Italy and Spain are family timeshare points, so we have to see what/where they are available and if it fits in our plans if not we would skip that and stay in hostels. The plan is for the trip to last 4-5 weeks so I'm not too sure if this is too much and what should be eliminated/changed if anything. Its going to take over 20 hours just to get to Europe with the layover and flying time and that is why I want to see as much as possible but not over do it. A friend that just got back from Europe said "Do 1-2 days in Paris and a week in Monaco" and that was why I had planned it in such a way but I am glad to get more perspectives!!! This really helps. And lodging wise, I don't care to much for anything fancy, as cheap as possible yet safe. Also, I would like to see cute small towns, what are any recommendations? I know I have mentioned several cities but anything that comes to mind that was exceptional would be great!

Also are there cities that you would recommend to rent a car in? Places that would be hard to get to with the bus transit?

Good info, thanks. Am sure that lots of Fodorites will weigh in with their recommendations based on their experience.

There is a thread on this site that could be of interest to you and provide some general traveling tips that could be useful: Things you wish you knew before traveling to Europe. Put that in the search box and check it out, there are tons of little hints.

Generally speaking, the cities that you are traveling to have public transportation that's far superior to that in the US. There are also some places where getting a car is the last thing you want to do either because of the driving habits there or that the cities are so small and crowded that driving and parking are difficult. Try to stay with public transport as much as possible (which could be your entire trip).

With the right planning, your trip is sure to be a success and lots of fun. Enjoy!

First of all, dismiss any additional advice that friend who told you about Paris and Monaco may have given. Actually, in many years on this forum, I've hardly ever learned about any worse piece of travel advice. Perhaps it's also the fault of that friend that you're planning merely two nights in Rome?? For people whose primary interests are culture and history, there are very few cities as interesting as Rome, Venice and Paris on this planet. IMHO, it's also almost bizarre to spend as much time in Amsterdam as in Venice; in three days in Amsterdam, you have time to see much more than you ever wanted to, while in three days in Venice, you're barely scratching the surface. Ditto on your four days in Prague; Prague is stunningly beautiful, yes, but it's a stunningly beautiful stage set, not a city anymore (the locals having long escaped from the tourist disneyland, with its tourist disneyland prices, that had once upon a time been the city center). Also, 4 nights Florence vs. 2 nights Rome needs some explanation, at least for me.

Agree - whoever gave you the advice about Paris and Monaco should be ignored from here on out. Monaco is interesting...maybe...for a half a day. And it sure doesn't fit your definition of a cute town. AND it's wildly expensive.

Add days to Rome and Paris.

Cut back on Amsterdam and Prague and Florence.

You don't need or want a car in any major city in Europe. On the other hand, if it really is your intention to see cute small towns, you need to rethink the whole trip, which right now appears to be based on hopping from city to city.

OK so i think I got it twisted. My friend said to spend 4 days in Nice and I somehow thought Nice was part of Monaco. Is Nice worthy of 4 nights? Cost, Culture, etc
Her recommendations were Paris, Nice, Brussels, Amsterdam, Rome, Florence.
I will definitely add more days to Paris and Rome!
Other than that is there any other alterations you would make to my itinerary??
And by small towns I mean taking day trips from the big cities I will be staying in.
Small towns near the cities I mentioned worthy of a day trip.
Also I have family in Pescara, Italy, about 2 hours from Rome. Have any of you been there?

Oh wait.. Nice is in Monaco right.. super confused now, SORRY!

No, Nice is not in Monaco. Monaco is a separate country - principality, actually - about 30 kms away from Nice.

Monaco is a very small country (principality, actually) that is smaller than New York's Central Park. It is on the coast of France quite close to Nice, totally surrounded by France.

If you are planning these lengthy travels, it might be a good idea to look at a map of where the places are in relation to one another.

Nice is certainly somewhat nicer than Monaco, but just somewhat... if Monaco deserves half a day, Nice might deserve half a day, as well; though I for one am not sure whether I'd send any of my friends to either of those places, be it for half a day or for half an hour.

LOL! ellenem, I have been looking at maps for quite sometime now and that is how i got confused, on Google maps Nice appears to be located in Monaco. =)!

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=nice,+...ed=0CCkQ8gEwAA

Check the map again...Monaco is clearly about 3 inches to the right up the coastline.

At any rate, they are two completely different places. I disagree with franco that half a day is all you need for Nice. It's quite a charming city, and from there you can take some interesting daytrips. I should think maybe 3 days there would be good.

I, too, disagree with franco, although I stay in Nice in the off season. I suspect I wouldn't like it nearly as much in the summer, but it is a good base for other sights nearby.

I just checked and see you're planning to go late July and August. Is that THIS year? Do you HAVE to go that time of year?

Seems to me that you are woefully negligent in any planning for a trip that seems to be mere weeks away. No plane tickets booked for summer travel, no idea if timeshares are available weeks away. My suggestion is that you do some serious reading, make a budget, and then see if this is going to work out. End of July, beginning of August - hot, sticky, crowded and already booked in many parts of Europe. And check the airlines to see if they can even get you there - airfares are going to be higher than you think.

Thanks for your reply thursdaysd, I have to travel within that time period because of school. Also socaltraveler unfortunately its not as easy as you might think. This is a last minute trip/gift from my father (1 month away) and I could not book my ticket, resorts, etc until the other person (not American) gets their visa (which is taking much longer than we expected). If it were up to me everything would be booked but I have wait. Luckily the timeshares should not be a problem, with or with them we will do just fine. Also we have family and friends all over Europe so we are not too concerned with the fact that hostels/hotels may be booked. Lastly I just checked airfares, luckily they are just perfect =)! Thanks for all your concerns. Now if we can get to recommendations site seeing, itinerary, etc, that would be awesome! =)